A lot of us have seen DBZ, and even those who haven't on this forum probably know what a Super Saiyan is, in vague terms.

But, to anyone who doesn't know, when Goku first achieved the Super Saiyan form, it was an immense powerboost, the kind that let him defeat someone that had been far too strong for him to handle up till that point. While initially it was not something he had great control over, he was able to master it and improve on it.

How would one implement that in a 5E game?

Some ideas:

Two actions every turn
Resistance to all damage
Max damage on all attacks

Rerem115

2018-12-27, 10:34 PM

What's the format for implementing this? Is it an epic boon? The capstone of a class or subclass? Or, is it more of a feature to build something around? Knowing the intended availability and power level is crucial.

LuminousWarrior

2018-12-28, 05:17 AM

I would rule Super Saiyan as a form of Barbarian Rage.

Zhorn

2018-12-28, 05:40 AM

So Super Saiyan is a power multiplier that at its base form a grant the user a x50 boost to their power level.
since
(double spoiler due to profanity)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsMSiVn6vpQ
edit: link instead of embedding, since video title is not censored
I think it would be scaled back a fair bit from that, otherwise your barbarian is hitting for 50d12 per hit.

Perhaps a combination of spell buffs that would reflect an increase in power and survivebility?
Haste + Shield of Faith + Divine Favor + Enlarge + Magic Weapon (+ Blur?)
Giving an extra attack
+2d4+3 extra damage per hit
+4 AC
Advantage on Dex saves
Double movement speed
(Disadvantage against being hit if Blur can get worked in)
(Stacked all onto a Raging Barbarian for maximum thematic appropriateness, and add fly just for the heck of it...)
Highly overpowered, but not impossible to achieve with a full party buffing up a single character.

Blackbando

2018-12-28, 10:08 AM

The easiest, most balanced way to do it, is most definitely Rage.

The problem with trying to accurately bring Super Saiyans into 5e is the fact that the power level of Dragonball Z is far, far beyond what is capable of happening in D&D, so what typically has to happen is that you can't really be accurate to the source material, or else you end up making an extremely overpowered character.

Unless every character can do it, I suppose, but frankly, at that point, you're probably just playing epic levels, but instead of having 12 classes to pick from, you have one.

JNAProductions

2018-12-28, 05:35 PM

Perhaps I should've been more clear.

I'm not necessarily looking to port Super Saiyan over DIRECTLY, more the general idea of super modes.

Does that help clear it up a bit?

Protato

2018-12-28, 09:28 PM

A simple idea I'd toyed with is giving the Barbarian I've been playing for a while now three additional levels in Champion Fighter when fighting the Samurai Kaido, since my Barbarian has his brother Shiro's sword. It'd be that Shiro's soul is acting in tandem with my Barbarian's and giving him the power needed to overcome his brother who had gone astray. Additionally, the Barbarian would get resistance to Necrotic, as Kaido's Wo Dao does 3d6 Necrotic in addition to Longsword damage and almost put me under in the first encounter we had with him.

Zhorn

2018-12-28, 10:38 PM

Perhaps I should've been more clear.

I'm not necessarily looking to port Super Saiyan over DIRECTLY, more the general idea of super modes.

Does that help clear it up a bit?

Ok, then I'm definitely doubling down on my stacking buffs idea, though some alternate implementations.

First up, tie the boost to an item (like Protato's suggestion) as it make the player going into super-mode not reliant on other players. It also gives you an avenue to monkey about with the benefits without directly tweaking the player's character.

Second; duration and availability. Kaio-ken, Ultra-Instinct, and even the Super Saiyan have a limit or drawback from prolonged use (especially when used recklessly). You mentioned...
While initially it was not something he had great control over, he was able to master it and improve on it....which makes me think to tie either the number of uses and/or duration to a character's proficiency bonus (or use proficiency dice if you want to maintain a random element). Of course if you want to tie it into a specific class rather than a general one-size-fits-all approach, then connecting it to a limited class mechanic can suit there (barbarian rage, monk ki points, sorcerer sorcery points, etc)

Finally, types of boosts. the buff stacking I suggested earlier works wonders for melee characters that are in the fray, but less impressive for a caster unless they are on the run and need the speed/evasion. Maybe so classes if could just function as a limit breaker, such as a sorcerer being allowed to spend as many of their remaining sorcery points on meta magic without the restrictions of how many can be used per turn. Still limited by their total pool of resources, but you could be in for one heck of a light show.

khadgar567

2018-12-29, 01:40 AM

Ok, then I'm definitely doubling down on my stacking buffs idea, though some alternate implementations.

First up, tie the boost to an item (like Protato's suggestion) as it make the player going into super-mode not reliant on other players. It also gives you an avenue to monkey about with the benefits without directly tweaking the player's character.

Second; duration and availability. Kaio-ken, Ultra-Instinct, and even the Super Saiyan have a limit or drawback from prolonged use (especially when used recklessly). You mentioned......which makes me think to tie either the number of uses and/or duration to a character's proficiency bonus (or use proficiency dice if you want to maintain a random element). Of course if you want to tie it into a specific class rather than a general one-size-fits-all approach, then connecting it to a limited class mechanic can suit there (barbarian rage, monk ki points, sorcerer sorcery points, etc)

Finally, types of boosts. the buff stacking I suggested earlier works wonders for melee characters that are in the fray, but less impressive for a caster unless they are on the run and need the speed/evasion. Maybe so classes if could just function as a limit breaker, such as a sorcerer being allowed to spend as many of their remaining sorcery points on meta magic without the restrictions of how many can be used per turn. Still limited by their total pool of resources, but you could be in for one heck of a light show.
Besides the idiot containment technique there is no spell in dragon ball universe plus cleric needs his unique form thanks to god portion of super saiyan god and best system to create saiyan probably comming in august then i pop the answer in forum

Zhorn

2018-12-29, 06:40 AM

Besides the idiot containment technique there is no spell in dragon ball universe plus cleric needs his unique form thanks to god portion of super saiyan god and best system to create saiyan probably comming in august then i pop the answer in forum

Don't want to share with the rest of us now? JNAProductions would probably be more interested now than later.
As for the lack of spells in dragonball, that shouldn't really be a concern, considering it was used in the opening post as an analogy for super modes in general, not porting dragonball directly into a d20 system.

khadgar567

2018-12-29, 06:51 AM

Don't want to share with the rest of us now? JNAProductions would probably be more interested now than later.
As for the lack of spells in Dragonball, that shouldn't really be a concern, considering it was used in the opening post as an analogy for super modes in general, not porting Dragonball directly into a d20 system.
well, sharing is not the problem. its basically pathfinder 2nd edition content and I need to sit down and write the entire race from scratch to build it properly otherwise it's hard to build super Saiyan thasalonian wizard with current dunce headed creations.
EDİT: besides there are no Saiyan exclusive abilities besides their self improving survive trick and their tails otherwise Goku is basicly to mundane to have any f ing solid personality to make into a full race. all Saiyans have self-upgrading feat that represents each transformation one feat for chimp form then three feat chain for each base and god form than the whole mess of. I tried to turn super saiyan in chimp form and end up unlocking a story feat side. then thanks to Toriyama we gonna have its good side as I tried to turn super saiyan god while chimp story feat. You know f it unit Toriyama stops creating more forms it impossible to fully create d&d or pathfinder super saiyan meaningfully.

PhoenixPhyre

2018-12-29, 10:26 PM

I built a set of items that let their users "go super" a limited number of times per day, but I'll have to find the document tomorrow. They were class specific and tied to the core mechanics of the class, but beyond that I'm blanking right now.

Tvtyrant

2018-12-29, 10:39 PM

The character heals back to full health and auto-rolls 20s for a few rounds but then roll 1s until their next long rest due to exhaustion. This would make it similar to the show where you don't want to use it if you can avoid it, as you are basically done from then on.

Kane0

2018-12-30, 03:11 AM

Burn a hit die each round to gain an extra die that can be used to add to attack rolls, damage rolls, checks, saves, etc. this die size increases with proficiency bonus (control)